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Several studies have shown that flying electric between the so-called ABC-islands in the Caribbean (i.e., Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) is feasible with the upcoming first generation of battery-electric aircraft. This paper presents a real-world case study that deals with the technical and operational characteristics of electric flight in that region. With that purpose, the Aruba Airport Authority (AAA) commissioned this investigation, which involved numerous local stakeholders, such as airlines, energy providers and navigation services. This study involves two commuter electric aircraft under development, aiming to investigate how they fit in the current operational scheme of three local airlines and three conventional aircraft types in terms of technology, capacity, schedule, performance, CO 2 emissions and fuel costs. Conclusions indicate that a transition to batter-electric aircraft is feasible with regards to the aforementioned criteria and with the current technology and energy density of batteries.

Ever since the Wright brothers’ first powered flight in 1903, commercial aircraft have relied on liquid hydrocarbon fuels. However, the need for greenhouse gas emission reductions along with recent progress in battery technology for automobiles has generated strong interest in electric propulsion in aviation. This Analysis provides a first-order assessment of the energy, economic and environmental implications of all-electric aircraft. We show that batteries with significantly higher specific energy and lower cost, coupled with further reductions of costs and CO 2 intensity of electricity, are necessary for exploiting the full range of economic and environmental benefits provided by all-electric aircraft. A global fleet of all-electric aircraft serving all flights up to a distance of 400–600 nautical miles (741–1,111 km) would demand an equivalent of 0.6–1.7% of worldwide electricity consumption in 2015. Although lifecycle CO 2 emissions of all-electric aircraft depend on the power generation mix, all direct combustion emissions and thus direct air pollutants and direct non-CO 2 warming impacts would be eliminated. Electric aircraft offer an aviation decarbonization pathway and attract increasing attention owing to the rapid development of batteries. Here Andreas Schäfer and colleagues analyse the potential technological, economic and environmental viability of battery-electric commercial aircraft.

High-voltageization is a development direction for large aircraft electrical power systems. Influenced by more-electric technologies, the power consumption of equipment has increased significantly, making research on the 230 V variable-frequency AC power supply system imperative. This paper summarizes the current state of research on the modeling and simulation of aircraft electrical power systems. Based on the composition and operational principles of a typical more-electric aircraft power supply system, it details the modeling process and simulation implementation, and validates the simulation model. The validation results demonstrate that the 230 V aviation high-voltage electrical power system simulation model established in this paper is accurate and effective. It can verify the design functions of the power supply system, providing a reference for research on 230 V aviation high-voltage electrical power systems.

Novel electric aircraft designs coupled with intense efforts from academia, government and industry led to a paradigm shift in urban transportation by introducing UAM. While UAM promises to introduce a new mode of transport, it depends on ground infrastructure to operate safely and efficiently in a highly constrained urban environment. Due to its novelty, the research of UAM ground infrastructure is widely scattered. Therefore, this paper selects, categorizes and summarizes existing literature in a systematic fashion and strives to support the harmonization process of contributions made by industry, research and regulatory authorities. Through a document term matrix approach, we identified 49 Scopus-listed scientific publications (2016–2021) addressing the topic of UAM ground infrastructure with respect to airspace operation followed by design, location and network, throughput and capacity, ground operations, cost, safety, regulation, weather and lastly noise and security. Last listed topics from cost onwards appear to be substantially under-represented, but will be influencing current developments and challenges. This manuscript further presents regulatory considerations (Europe, U.S., international) and introduces additional noteworthy scientific publications and industry contributions. Initial uncertainties in naming UAM ground infrastructure seem to be overcome; vertiport is now being predominantly used when speaking about vertical take-off and landing UAM operations.

This paper carries out a sensitivity analysis on the recently proposed hybrid-electric range equation [1]. The proposed hybrid-electric range equation is based on an efficiency-based definition of the degree of hybridization and the efficiencies of respective drivetrains on the range estimation of the hybrid-electric aircraft. The ATR 72 turbo-prop aircraft is chosen as the case study for the sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity analysis done in this paper shows the effects of parameters such as lift to drag ratio, efficiencies, energy densities, payload weight, etc. on the aircraft range. It was observed that variation in aircraft range due to each parameter was distinct and unique. The analysis also depicted the implications of the changes in the above-mentioned parameters from an aircraft designer’s viewpoint. The changes were carried out using the predictions for the year 2050. The sensitivity analysis performed in this work successfully narrowed down the parameters that had the maximum impact on the aircraft range.

As the main structure of the all-electric aircraft, the drive motor is required to have the advantages of high power density and high reliability. Due to the low temperature and strong convection environment during the flight, the environmental temperature of the motor is low, but the temperature rise of the motor is high, and the temperature variation range of the stator material is large. Especially, the segmented stator is close to the winding coil of the motor, and the influence of thermal stress on the material cannot be ignored. In this paper, an axial flux motor is used as the design background, and the temperature and thermal stress of silicon steel with two orientations are simulated and calculated. The magnetic properties of the material were analyzed by a multi-physical field coupling test platform, and the external stress caused by a single variable temperature and different expansion coefficients of the potting material and the thermal stress in the silicon steel sheet caused by rapid temperature change were studied. The results show that the potting material with a low expansion coefficient, good thermal conductivity, and high hardness can effectively perfect the thermal stress of the iron core.

To solve the problems of excessive weight, insufficient power density, and energy efficiency of the main drive motor in electric aircraft, and based on thermo-solid coupling theory and electromagnetic field optimization theory, amorphous alloy material and topology optimization technology are adopted, combined with multi-physical field simulation software such as Maxwell, FLUENT and ANSYS, to ensure that the mechanical strength and temperature rise distribution of motor meet the requirements. The lightweight target of 8.12% weight reduction of motor stator core and 28.1% weight reduction of rotor core is realized, which significantly improves the power density and energy efficiency of the main drive motor of electric aircraft.

This paper describes a robust performance comparison of flight control actuation controllers based on a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) in more electric aircraft (MEA). Recently, the PMSM has become a favorite for the flight control applications of more electric aircraft (MEA) due to their improved efficiency, higher torque, less noise, and higher reliability as compared to their counterparts. Thus, advanced nonlinear control techniques offer even better performance for the control of PMSM as noticed in this research. In this paper, three nonlinear approaches i.e. Feedback Linearization Control (FBL) through the cancellation of the non-linearity of the system, the stabilization of the system via Backstepping Control (BSC) using the Lyapunov candidate function as well as the robust performance with chattering minimization by applying the continuous approximation based Sliding Mode Control (SMC) are compared with generalized Field-Oriented Controller (FOC). The comparison of FOC, FBL, BSC and SMC shows that the nonlinear controllers perform well under varying aerodynamic loads during flight. However, the performance of the sliding mode control is found superior as compared to the other three controllers in terms of better performance characteristics e.g. response time, steady-state error etc. as well as the control robustness in the presence of the uncertain parameters of the PMSM model and variable load torque acting as a disturbance. In essence, the peak of the tolerance band is less than 20% for all nonlinear and FOC controller, while it is less than 5% for SMC. Steady state error for the SMC is least (0.01%) as compared to other three controllers. Moreover, the SMC controller is able to withstand 50% parameter variation and loading torque of 10 N.m without significant changes in performance. Six simulation scenarios are used to analyze the performance and robustness which depict that the sliding mode controller performs well in terms of the desired performance for MEA application.

More electric aircraft (MEA) represent the future direction of civil aviation development. Asynchronous motors, known for their simple structure and high reliability, are utilized to establish control systems that drive hydraulic, fuel, and air pumps, thereby providing secondary energy for aircraft. This enhances the reliability and safety of electromechanical systems. This paper adopts a field-oriented vector control method to regulate the asynchronous motor, employing Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) for inverter modulation. The DC power supply voltage is set at 540 V. By constructing a simulation test platform, the parameters of the speed loop and current loop controllers of the asynchronous motor are fine-tuned to ensure the electromechanical system can deliver the required torque and speed.

Taking the water electric aircraft as the research object, to solve the problem of high temperature of the motor, controller and radiator in the powerhouse when the aircraft is travelling under the high temperature condition in summer. Firstly, the three-dimensional model of the power module of the electric aircraft is established and simulation experiments are carried out, and then according to the simulation results, the power module is optimized and improved, and after simulation experiments, it is known that the highest temperature of the surface of the electric motor is 432.83K, the highest temperature of the surface of the controller is 370.82K, and the highest temperature of the surface of the radiator is 368.67K, and the final experimental results show that the optimization meets the cooling requirements of the aircraft flight. The final experimental results show that the optimisation meets the heat dissipation requirements of the aircraft flight.